Harry Potter and the Archway of Death
by aditij24
Summary: Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts, and an innocent present goes astray...
1. Ron's Present

Chapter 1 - Ron's Present  
  
It was a cold and lonely day. No it wasn't! Or WAS it...? Harry awoke from his dreams to find that his letter had reached Ron, and Hedwig was hooting happily on the end of his bed with a package gripped tightly in her talons.  
  
Hey Harry, [said the letter attached to the package] How's things in the Muggle-house? Hope you can get out soon... I got this really odd letter from Tonks and Moody the other day... They said not to write to Hermione. Have you gotten a letter with anything like that in it? I hope she's alright... Well, Happy Birthday! Don't open your present until you are positive that nobody else is in the room. The present cost me a heap of money but I managed to scab some off of Fred and George, you won't believe how arrogantly rich they've become! They were like 'nah, you don't have to return the money, we're giving it to you out of the love and respect for our brother...' I'll eat my hat if they've ever had a speck of respect for me. They are pretty generous though, as long as I spread the word about their new Joke Shop.  
Ron  
  
Harry looked thoughtfully at Hedwig before sending her outside so he could open his present with nobody in the room as Ron had requested. What could the pacage be? He ripped off the wrapping, and gasped in surprise. It was a minature arch with a veil, just like the one he had seen in the Department of Mysteries! He glanced at the note on it.  
  
Harry, This is now officially yours. If anyone had looked at it before you did, it would have been theirs instead. I had a hard time wrapping it without looking at it. There is a manual that goes with it, I read some of it and it looks really complicated (it looks like a book Hermione would be interested in, to put it gently) but I suppose you might be able to do some interesting things with it... Ron  
  
Harry stared at the arch. What could it possibly mean? He remembered that behind the huge arch and veil in the Department of Mysteries, he could hear voices of the dead. He put the arch up to his ear, but he couldn't hear anything. He wrapped up the arch and veil with the manual, let Hedwig back inside, then began to write a reply letter to Ron.  
  
Ron, Thanks heaps for the present, but it just brings back too many painful memories for me to try and use right now. I may look at it in the future. I haven't heard from Tonks OR Moody lately... I heard from Lupin though, something about a secret mission - Do you know what it is? I'm going to write a letter to Hermione right now, after all, they never told ME I couldn't write to her. So is there anything you'd like me to tell her? I wonder what's behind all this, and yeah, I hope Hermione is alright. Harry.  
  
He folded the scrap of parchment and gave it to Hedwig. Then Harry leaned back in his bed, grabbed another piece of parchment, and started writing a letter to Hermione, asking her what was going on. Next, he wrote a similar but perhaps sligltly more crass letter to Moody and Tonks, asking them what was happening and demanding to know why he hadn't heard from them in over a week. He gave these letters to Hedwig also, and knowing her to be a smart owl, he knew she wouldn't get confused with the letters, and he sent her on her way.  
  
Then he heard a knock on his frail bedroom door, and the door burst open a second later with the large frame of Uncle Vernon standing there, looking as furious as humanly possible. 


	2. Damage Done

Chapter 2 - Damage Done  
  
An hour later, Harry was still arguing with Uncle Vernon.  
  
"I did NOT make those slugs crawl all over Aunt Petunia's garden!" protested Harry.  
  
"Oh yes, of course, because nothing terrible EVER happens with YOU in the house," yelled Uncle Vernon sarcastically. "And what about that big mess in the kitchen???"  
  
Harry stared. "What?"  
  
"The kitchen! It's in ruins!" Uncle Vernon looked livid with fury.  
  
Harry walked into the kitchen to see the usually shiny oven comletely demolished, the toaster appeared to be whistling loudly, and the TV that had been placed conveniently infront of the table for Dudley was letting off a lazy wisp of smoke.  
  
"I... I didn't...," Harry started. But his Uncle didn't want to hear it.  
  
"GET. OUT." He said loud and slow.  
  
Just then, Aunt Petunia walked in, humming to herself and swinging shopping bags off her arms. She saw the mess, and screamed, dropping the shopping bags, spilling buckets of fine chocolate and vanilla ice cream everywhere. Immediately, she looked at Uncle Vernon, who pointed at Harry, who looked around and attempted to pin it on Dudley by pointing at him as he strolled in through the back door.  
  
Dudley shrieked and squealed when he saw the damage, and ran to the television, horrified that his brand new big screen TV was damaged. Then he saw the ice cream on the floor and relaxed as he grabbed a spoon and started to eat.  
  
"I didn't do this!" said Harry. Aunt Petunia looked for a second at Harry, and she seemed to be thinking hard, something she definitely wasn't famous for.  
  
"Vernon... if it WAS the boy, wouldn't he have gotten one of those owls with a letter by now?" Aunt Petunia said timidly.  
  
"Yes... I suppose so," breathed Uncle Vernon heavily. "But who else could have done this? Only the boy has been home all day."  
  
Harry slipped up to his room, leaving his relatives to sort out the damage themselves. He hated it when the Dursleys talked about Harry as though he wasn't in the room. Who had damaged their kitchen? It had to have been done by magic, Harry was sure of that. If it was done the Muggle way, he would have heard the damage being done, plus, the toaster shouldn't be whistling. But if it WAS by magic, how come he hadn't recieved a reprimanding letter from the Ministry of Magic? After all, the Ministry didn't care that it wasn't Harry's fault, they would send a letter anyway.  
  
It must have been a trained wizard who managed to damage the kitchen without anyone noticing, even the Ministry, thought Harry as he lay back in his bed. His head hit something hard as he lay into his pillow. He realized it was the package Ron had sent him. He threw it aside, and fell asleep, tossing and turning. 


	3. Tonks and Moody

Chapter 3 - Tonks and Moody  
  
Harry awoke with a start. He could hear voices from downstairs.  
  
"Harry's coming with us. It's no longer safe for him to stay here with you Muggles," the gruff voice of Mad-Eye Moody said.  
  
"Yeah," said Tonks from the kitchen. "He needs to stay with a wizarding family so they can help him stay out of trouble, and when trouble does come, they'll know what to do."  
  
Harry got dressed and stumbled down the stairs. Moody and Tonks greeted him enthusiastically.  
  
"Where am I going?" asked Harry, yawning, wishing his hair would lie flat.  
  
Uncle Vernon interrupted. "He is NOT going anywhere until we sort out the fact that we are NOT going to have our house torn to pieces with some dark... wizard (he whispered the word 'wizard' like it was a curse) after him! We don't care if the boy gets hurt, but this wizard is damaging our property!"  
  
Tonks said calmly, "That is only a small taste of what he COULD have done to you. There are far worse things that might come to this family now that Lord Voldemort has found a way into your house. Harry needs to leave."  
  
"Fine." And without another word, Uncle Vernon shooed Dudley upstairs and left Harry, Aunt Petuina, Tonks, and Moody in the kitchen.  
  
"Well," said Moody, adjusting his magical eye with a squelch. "Lets go."  
  
"Er..." said Aunt Petunia timidly, who was now trying to stop the toaster from whistling 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. The toaster seemed to take this personally and changed to 'Old McDonald' immediately.  
  
"Yes?" said Harry, impatient to leave now that he was fully awake.  
  
"Well, this Dumbledore..." said Aunt Petunia. "In his letter to me years ago, he said that as long as you stayed dependent of me in my house, you were safe. So why is our kitchen in ruins?"  
  
Tonks sighed. "Lord Voldemort must have found a way to overcome that. He's not as stupid as some of his followers, you know..."  
  
Aunt Petunia left to join Uncle Vernon and Dudley. A minute later, Harry's suitcase and broomstick appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Harry took one last look around the wasted kitchen before leaving with Tonks and Moody through the back door.  
  
"So where ARE we going?" asked Harry. "Or is it confidential?"  
  
"No," said Moody. "You're going to the Weasley's house. We are just your guards accompanying you there."  
  
"Ah," said Harry. 


	4. Ron's House

Chapter 4 - Ron's House  
  
"Hey Ron!" shouted Harry as Tonks and Moody flew beside Harry's Firebolt to land in the Burrow's backyard, sending the chickens scattering to avoid the broomsticks.  
  
"Harry! You made it!" said Ron joyfully. Beside him was Hermione and a girl Harry didn't know. She was very pretty, and as Harry landed, he saw that she had electric blue eyes that seemed to give off sparks of enthusiasm.  
  
"So you're this Harry Potter everyone's been talking about, huh?" she said in a slightly Welsh accent, shaking Harry's hand.  
  
"Allow me to introduce you," said Ron. "This is April. April Dumbledore."  
  
"Dumbledore?" Harry gasped, surprised. Dumbledore had a... daughter???  
  
"Yeah... I'm his daughter," said April. "It's a long story, I've told it about 5 billion times since I've been here."  
  
"Hermione!" exclaimed Harry. "What's up? Did you get my owl? Why couldn't Ron contact you?"  
  
Hermione explained, "Well, apparently, both the Ministry and Voldemort are tracking and filtering owl mail that is sent in and out of pureblood families such as the Weasleys. I think they're filtering the pureblood family mail to find out information people might be hiding. Anyway, Moody and Tonks were staying at my place for a few days to lead their trail away from the wizarding world to a Muggle community so they would be followed, and they were afraid that if Ron contacted me with some information, no matter how discrete, the letter might fall into the wrong hands, and they might discover Moody and Tonks." She said this all in one breath, then she added, "Or something like that anyway."  
  
Just then, Mrs Weasley came out.  
  
"Hello Harry!" she said brightly. "Had a good holiday? No? Well we'll soon fix that." She steered him inside where a large table was laden with delicious food. She sat Harry down on a chair, and watched him start to eat.  
  
"I expect you're very hungry, and the others have already eaten, so feel free to eat as much as you like," Mrs Weasley said, carefully watching Harry. Mrs Weasley had always been nice, but she seemed to be acting extra- kind to him now. Perhaps because of what had happened last year in the Department of Mysteries.  
  
Hermione, Ron, and April came in and sat around Harry, talking while Harry ate. He was indeed starving from his long broomstick ride to the Burrow.  
  
"Hey mum," said Ron suddenly, peering outside. "Where've Tonks and Moody gone?"  
  
"Oh, they had to leave. Urgent business. Nothing you need to know about," Mrs Weasley replied.  
  
Just then, Fred and George Weasley apparated right on top of the dining table with a bang that sent the food flying. Fred put his foot in a jug of pumpkin juice by accident. Mrs Weasley looked extremely angry.  
  
"Now really - " she started.  
  
"Hi Harry!" said George brightly.  
  
"How are ya?" said Fred, going purple trying to dislodge his foot from the jug. He attempted to pull it off, and only succeded in pushing an entire mountain of food off the table onto the floor in his hard effort. Harry helped him get his foot out, making a note to himself not to take pumpkin juice from that particular jug.  
  
"Ron, Fred, George - Go up to the attic and continue cleaning!" reprimanded Mrs Weasley. "And afterwards, you three can clean up this mess in the kitchen too." Her eyes flashed dangerously, as though daring her sons to do differently.  
  
Through a bite of his ninth sandwich, Harry said, "I'll help too, Mrs Weasley!" Hermione and April nodded too.  
  
"No, my dears, you are guests in this house," said Mrs Weasley firmly.  
  
"C'mon mum, we could do with a bit of help!" said Ron, exasperated. "And you always said that Harry is like one of the family, so start treating him like it!"  
  
Harry nodded, starting on a cold pie, and Mrs Weasley sighed, giving in. She handed the six children some magical cleaning cloths and spray and some boxes.  
  
"Alright," she said. "Fred and George, clean up the kitchen right now. The rest of you, up to the attic!"  
  
And feeling slightly bloated in the stomach, Harry grabbed a last piece of chicken, and lugged his suitcase upstairs on his way to the attic. 


	5. April's Story

Chapter 5 - April's Story  
  
"So what's happened to Sirius' old house?" asked Harry. "There's nobody there to inherit it is there?"  
  
"Apparently it went to the next Black relative," said Hermione, picking up an old sock and throwing it away. "You know Lucius Malfoy's wife? She inherited it. And she ordered for it to be thoroughly cleaned, AND she shoved the Order out. They marked it Private Property."  
  
"Yeah," said Ron. "And they've gotten Kreatcher to set up each room in the house to showcase old monuments and things from the ancient Black family. Kind of like a museum. I don't think they are gonna live in it, they've already got that huge mansion..."  
  
"It's so hard to belive Sirius was related to that filth," Harry spat. "So where are the Order having their meetings now?"  
  
"No idea." Hermione shook her head, finding an old family photograph and giving it a vigorous clean.  
  
"So, um, Harry," said Ron hesitantly. "Sorry about the present if you didn't like it, you just seemed very interested in the archway when we were in ... you know."  
  
"Yeah," said Harry. "It's okay, I liked the present, but it just reminded me of too much, you know?"  
  
April looked from Ron to Harry, confused. Harry looked at her.  
  
"Sorry," he said, noticing her bright blue eyes and feeling dazzled. They were the same eyes as Albus Dumbledore had, there was no doubting that. "We'll talk about something else."  
  
"Ron told me most of what... happened last year," said April. "But nothing about an archway. But yeah, lets talk about something else. Don't mean to sound self obsessed or anything, but maybe I should tell Harry about me. And why I haven't been at Hogwarts for the past 5 years." Then she added, "Just a conversation starter, you know..."  
  
"Yeah," said Ron. "But I thought you didn't want to tell your long story again."  
  
"Well... once more won't hurt," said April, picking up a damp cleaning cloth and starting to clean the items in the boxes in the attic. Harry and Hermione followed suit, but Ron sat back lazily.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron piercingly. "Ron, you really should help with the cleaning. After all, it IS your attic."  
  
"Okay, okay." Ron got up, pulled a dusty box of old items towards him, and began cleaning the first item, a small bronze horse that magically moved.  
  
"So I suppose I'd better start my story," said April, looking almost as lazy as Ron. "You see, after you, Harry, caused the downfall of Lord Voldemort (Ron shuddered as he heard the name), not many people knew that there was one more death he caused before disappearing for years. He didn't kill anyone, he was too weak. He got his supporters to do it for him. That was the death of my mother, Jules."  
  
She paused here, and Harry was too busy listening intently to notice that he was cleaning his shoe instead of the attic.  
  
"My father, that is, Albus Dumbledore, was scared now. He knew that Lord Voldemort was plotting something against my dad, and knew that everyone that he cared about got hurt, like his wife did. He didn't want to put other people in danger just because Voldemort hated him. So, when I was about 2 and a half, he sent me off to some distant mountains in Wales, with a good friend of his, Maria." April stopped again to get another box to start cleaning.  
  
"Now you have to realize something about Maria. She's a bit crazy in the head. And she went and hid me off away from Dumbledore and Voldemort, and raised me in her little cottage in the mountains. These past few weeks I've met more people than I ever saw on the mountains. And even if I did see people on the mountain, I was forbidden to talk to them. My father had no idea about this of course. He assumed I was living a normal life, in contact with the mountain people. But the only people I could talk to were Maria, her goats, and the mountain giants."  
  
Harry gasped. He knew from Hagrids' tales of giants that they were vicious. April noticed his surprise.  
  
"I became fairly good friends with the giants, and learned the ways of their packs and tribes. Anyway, Maria was quite old, and she took care of me the best she could. She was like the mother I never had to me, a bit of an old crackpot fool, but she cared and loved me all the same."  
  
Ron started coughing as he pulled out a very old rug from a box with a lot of dust. The dust settled in his hair, giving it a sandy brown look compared to his normal flaming red color.  
  
"Maria used to tell me stories of the real wizarding world," continued April. "She'd tell me about the minister, and the places in the wizarding world, which were a bit out of date because of the length of time she had been cut off from the rest of the world, and Hogwarts, and how I would go to Hogwarts when I was old enough. She kept on telling me this, and by the time I was about 14, I was starting to wonder whether I would ever come of age and be able to go to this amazing Hogwarts School." April stopped again, and her blue eyes looked sad for a moment.  
  
"Maria died when I was 15, and I set out to find my real family, the one Maria had told me about but never told me why I wasn't with them. Finally, my father found me, and told me everything, and took me around. I'm staying with Ron because my dad has to do some stuff... He wanted me to stay with an all wizard family for a while so that I could see what it was like in the wizarding world."  
  
Harry was astounded. He realized that he had never actually heard Dumbledore talk about his personal family, other than his brother, whom Harry had only heard Dumbledore talking about once. He looked at April. She didn't resemble Dumbledore too much, other than the powerful eyes. After all, April didn't have alot of Dumbledores qualities, like a long white beard. Her hair was a reddish-brown, and long and straight. April caught Harry staring at her, and grinned. She had the same smile as Dumbledore as well, thought Harry, and he kept cleaning the old mug he was holding.  
  
********** [::NOTE FROM AUTHOR::] ************* -Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! -Anna - Write more on your story! -Thanks to ARIEL - She is now my official editor for this story! ************************************************ 


	6. A Flock of OWLs

Chapter 6 - A Feast of OWLs  
  
By the end of the holidays, Harry felt more full of food than he ever had, and Mrs Weasley announced, ignoring Harry's groaning, that she was cooking an extra big feast on the second to last night of holidays. She also said that although Bill, Charlie, and Percy (she stammered Percy's name, looking like she was about to cry) were not present, she still expected the rest of them to leave absolutely no leftovers from her cooking, or she would take it as a personal insult.  
  
Hermione was avidly staring out at the sky every day, waiting for her OWL results to be owl posted to her. Ron, on the other hand, could wait much longer without his results. He started hoping that maybe his had been swapped with Hermione's by accident.  
  
Fred and George, of course, were not going back to Hogwarts, and their mother spent many hours reprimanding them for leaving, and asking them exactly what they thought they were going to do with their lives. They were happy enough, and rich enough, however, to tell her that their main goal in life was to turn the world into one large joke shop. Harry caught them putting an advertisment for their joke shop into everyone's bag the other day, along with a galleon to encourage them to spread the word about Fred and George's pranks.  
  
April turned out to be a very good flier, and she spent a lot of time playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. At every opportunity, she asked to borrow Harry's firebolt, and she seemed absolutely taken with it's speed. She herself didn't have a broomstick, but said that she used to fly Maria's old broom over the mountainside. When Ron asked her what model Maria's broomstick was, April replied that she had no idea, it was so old that the model type had been scratched off, and half the twigs were ones that Maria herself had entwined into the broom for sweeping her hut.  
  
On the second to last night of holidays, all the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and April were gathered around the large table outside under the stars, talking. Mr Weasley was talking to Harry about how cellular phones worked, and Fred and George were telling April about the numerous pranks they played on the ex-Professor Umbridge before they spectacularly left Hogwarts.  
  
The dessert dishes came out, with puddings and cakes of all sorts. Harry felt too full to eat, but Mrs Weasley had hiim under a quelling glare, and he quickly took two helpings of pudding and a slice of cake.  
  
"Ron," said Harry, suddenly thinking of something. "What's Lupin up to? The last time I heard from him he said he was on some secret mission for Dumbledore but he wanted me to keep sending Moody and Tonks owls so that they knew I was safe..."  
  
"Oh yeah," Ron replied through a mouthful of pudding. "I was going to tell you about that, I forgot. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I heard Dad talking... He's doing something with... Percy."  
  
"Percy?!" Harry thought hard. What would Lupin be doing with Percy for Dumbledore?  
  
"Yeah," said Ron. "It sounded very hush hush... I only heard that it was something to do with the Order, that's about all... See, mum confiscated the Extendable Ears that Fred and George gave me, so I couldn't hear much... They gave me a new pair yesterday though."  
  
Fred and George turned.  
  
"Yeah," said Fred. "We give our brother free products... Harry, would you like to buy something? Our Extendable Ears are very well priced! Or you could try our latest product - Furious Filch."  
  
Ginny turned around. "Is that the one you eat and the more you walk, the more muck and grime your shoes leave?"  
  
Fred grinned. "We named it after our good friend Argus Filch. Such a special friend, he was."  
  
Just then, two owls soared over head, each carrying several letters. Two letters dropped into Harry, Ron, and Hermione's laps, one from the Ministry with their OWL results, and one from Hogwarts, with the usual booklist of things he would need that year. Fred and George each recieved a letter in a black envelope from Hogwarts, and Ginny recieved a Hogwarts booklist too.  
  
Abandoning the other letters, Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up with their OWL results.  
  
"Shall we open them at the same time?" Ron said nervously, and Harry was surprised to see him shaking slightly.  
  
"Yeah," said Harry. "One... Two... Three... Open!"  
  
They all ripped open their envelopes. Instead of a letter, a small flat black stone in the shape of a wizards hat came out of the envelope. Inscribed upon the stone were three large letters - O.W.L. - and their results were set in the back of the stone.  
  
Hermione squealed. "I got FOURTEEN OWL's!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.  
  
"But Hermione," pointed out Fred. "The hightest amount of OWL credits you can recieve is 13."  
  
"It says I got an extra OWL for showing knowledge of NEWT level!" she said joyfully.  
  
Harry hadn't looked at his, he was waiting to see what Ron had gotten before looking at his own. Ron looked ghastly.  
  
"I...," Ron started. "I got 11 OWL's!" He grinned proudy. "What'd you get Harry?"  
  
Harry turned over his stone. Inscribed at the back was a long list of the credits he had been given, and at the bottom was a total.  
  
"12 OWL's!" He said, feeling happier than ever. "I didn't get any OWL's for Divination... But that's not surprising is it?" He wondered how the hell he had gotten an OWL for History of Magic, after his episode in the exam? He looked carefully at the stone. He had gotten an extra OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts for his Patronus, he assumed, because inscribed was "Shows NEWT level knowledge for Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
  
"I missed out on Divination and History of Magic, and I only got one OWL in Potions, instead of 2," said Ron, staring at his stone.  
  
"Can I borrow one of your owls?" asked Hermione. "I want to tell my parents my results."  
  
"Of course, dear," said Mrs Weasley. "I'm very proud of all of you."  
  
Fred and George had opened the letters in black envelopes, and it was an official letter saying that they had left Hogwarts and had completed their OWLs but not their NEWTs. Harry now opened his booklist, and read through the list of things he would need.  
  
"Same old books," muttered Harry. "Look, they've got three new Defense Against the Dark Arts books. Does this mean that we have a new teacher?"  
  
"I wonder who it is," said Hermione thoughtfully, now looking down her list of essential items. "There's not too many new books though, thank goodness."  
  
That night, Harry fell asleep as soon as his head touched his soft pillow. Even Hedwig hooting from eating too much couldn't keep him awake.  
  
The next day, Mr Weasley made sure to have at least two people stick by Harry for protection at all times. Hermione and Ron were happy to do this, and they walked down Diagon Alley together, with April tagging along behind them, quiet in awe of Diagon Alley. Harry wished Mr Weasley would stop being so overprotective, but he knew it was for the best.  
  
After buying their books, they showed April around Diagon Alley. Just around the corner from Flourish and Blotts, they bumped into their least favorite person - Draco Malfoy. He was carrying a brand new owl and a smirk played around his face as he saw Ron's tattered clothes.  
  
"How long have those clothes been in the family, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered. "Passed them down from father to son I suppose?"  
  
Ron turned purple, and Hermione said "No, Ron, ignore him!"  
  
Harry turned to face Malfoy. "Where's your dad, Malfoy? Out partying with the Death Eaters?"  
  
"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy snarled, and looked around, and for the first time, noticed April.  
  
"Who are you?" Malfoy asked, and his voice seemed to soften a bit.  
  
"April Dumbledore... I'm the Headmaster's daughter," said April smoothly. Malfoy held out his hand to shake hers, but she looked at it and said bluntly, "You're not very nice, are you?"  
  
"Excuse me, but what are you going to do - Run off and tell your Daddy on me?" Malfoy retorted, a hint of danger in his voice.  
  
"Excuse me, but judging by that new owl and your posh clothes I'd say you were a bit more of a 'lets go tell Daddy' person than me," April shot back.  
  
Malfoy ignored her, and turned to Harry. "I believe you have heard about our aquiring a new house? My mother inherited the Ancient House of Black. It is now the new Black Experience - We've turned it into a glass case filled with artifacts from the Black family history. No more Mudbloods allowed in that house." Malfoy sneered at Hermione, who glared back.  
  
"Yeah, I heard," said Harry casually. He didn't particularly care, after all, Sirius had hated that house, he probably would have loved to get rid of it. Malfoy narrowed his eyes and directed his attention back to April.  
  
"I haven't seen you around Hogwarts," Malfoy said. "My name's Draco, by the way. I'm in Slytherin House at Hogwarts."  
  
April replied, "I'm just starting at Hogwarts this year, so I have no idea what house I'll be in. My dad was in Gryffindor though..." She looked at Malfoy. Just that moment, Malfoy's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle came up the street, and Malfoy took a last look at April, and left with Crabbe and Goyle beside him like bodyguards.  
  
Ron was looking at April thoughtfully too. "He fancies you," he grinned. "You're going to have a tough year if Malfoy chases you around."  
  
"He seemed quite insulting," said April, although she was blushing slightly at the thought of someone fancying her.  
  
"Perhaps...," began Ron, looking hopeful. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."  
  
Harry laughed. "How do you know Malfoy likes her?" he questioned.  
  
"It's obvious," said Hermione briskly. "He didn't shoot an insult at her."  
  
"Maybe he just wanted to get on Dumbledore's good side through her," said Harry. It seemed ridiculous that Malfoy would like a down to earth, caring girl like April.  
  
"Why don't we go find your parents Ron?" said April, who was flaming at the cheeks, her face identical color to Ron's hair. 


	7. Storm Strikes

Chapter 7 - Storm Strikes  
  
"Harry," Ron's voice said in Harry's ear, slightly too loudly than Harry would have appreciated early in the morning. "Get up."  
  
Harry shook himself awake and attempted to fall down the stairs with his suitcase as soon as he was dressed. He saw Ginny, April, and Hermione stumbling down the stairs as well.  
  
"We're leaving early," reported Mr Weasley, shoving some of Ron's clothes back into his suitcase before they had to suffer the consequences of Mrs Weasley repacking their messy suitcases for them.  
  
"Why?" asked Ginny, trying hard not to spill her bowl of cereal as she almost tripped over her own suitcase, which was full to bursting point.  
  
"Well," explained Mr Weasley, "The train is leaving at 9:00am sharp today, because there's a predicted magical storm brewing up in the sky, and Dumbledore wants you to get safely to Hogwarts before the storm hits you."  
  
"I've heard about those magical storms," said Hermione, looking up from her breakfast suddenly. "They affect wizards magic if you're unprotected from them, right? There's supposed to be a lot of lightning."  
  
"That's right, and you don't want to be stuck on an old train while a Class A storm is going on around you," Mrs Weasley said, coming into the kitchen and stepping over the numerous owl cages and suitcases that lay in the doorway. "Really, Ron," she reprimanded, looking at his suitcase. "Even Muggles can pack faster and quicker than you!"  
  
"Class A?" Mr Weasley looked worried. "I do hope it doesn't start to rain before they reach Hogwarts. The weather man said that there could be a bad electrical current."  
  
It seemed like a fine day outside as Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and April piled their suitcases into Mr Weasley's brand new Toyota. Harry wondered if Mr Weasley had bewitched this one as well, and it certainly seemed to be this way, as the car held their entire luggage with extra space remaining in the trunk.  
  
Just then, Tonks swooped in on her broomstick, and talked to Mr Weasley. Then she turned to Harry.  
  
"I'm going to be your guard to the train station," she said, not noticing that Harry was turning red at the fact that he needed a bodyguard everywhere he went. "I'll be invisible, and I'll fly by your car to the train station. Mad-Eye wanted to come, but he's slightly busy, he said something about an eye infection..." she broke off, grinning slightly, and Harry knew she was joking.  
  
They finally managed to set off, and arrived at the train station in time to get through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, and bid Tonks goodbye as she flew off. Overhead, Harry thought he heard a rumble of thunder.  
  
"Oh dear!" said Mrs Weasley, looking up at the sky, flustered. "I hope the storm isn't starting early. It'll take a good several hours to build up, but if it hits the train before you've reached Hogwarts."  
  
Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Fred and George said their goodbyes, and Fred and George pulled Harry aside after Ron, April, Hermione, and Ginny had gotten on the train.  
  
"Harry," began Fred.  
  
"We left Hogwarts with many accomplished pranks," continued George, looking important.  
  
"But there were numerous plans that we - er - never managed to expedite," said Fred, smirking slightly. He pulled a long roll of parchment out of his pocket, and handed it to Harry.  
  
"We always wanted to play these pranks, but never had the time, what with the odd detention wasting our valuable time in school," said George. "I hope you can find the time to pull off a few tricks this year."  
  
And they walked away with Mr and Mrs Weasley. Harry unrolled the piece of parchment, and read the first sentence - 'Puking Portraits' - and underneath, Fred and George had continued to explain how to bewitch the paintings and portraits in Hogwarts to puke on anyone who happened to be walking by. Harry grinned, and stuffed the parchment inside his robes.  
  
The train ride started out quite happily, and Harry lay back in his compartment contently, preferring to listen to Ron arguing with Hermione and Ginny and April trying to decide which side they were on. Shortly, the food trolley rolled by, and Harry jumped up and bought a pile of food, sharing it around. April seemed to excite at every little thing, from the Platform 9 ¾ to the extraordinary Chocolate Frogs which she had never had. It reminded Harry slightly of when he first came to Hogwarts, and everything seemed new to him.  
  
"I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be," suddenly said Ginny, looking thoughtful.  
  
"Who would want to take that job?" said Ron, through a mouthful of chocolate. He picked up a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, and started on the first one, which Harry thought looked suspiciously like beetroot. Ron coughed, and took a white vanilla bean to make up for it.  
  
"Speaking of new people," said Harry, taking the box of beans from Ron, "Who is going to replace Fred and George on the Quidditch team."  
  
Ginny suddenly flushed. "I... I suppose you'll be Seeker again Harry," she said, looking slightly downcast, as this meant she would be bumped off of her Seeker spot.  
  
"Well, yeah," said Harry. "But you could still stay on the team. I've watched you play, you play so furiously that you could probably make a fairly good Beater."  
  
Ron was also looking flushed. "I don't suppose they'll want me as keeper anymore, I wasn't that spectacular."  
  
"What are you talking about?" said Harry. "You're heaps better now, don't worry, they'll keep you as keeper."  
  
Now April flushed. "I was - er - thinking maybe I could try out for the team," she said nervously.  
  
"Yeah!" exclaimed Ginny. "You could be a Beater too, you'd be great, you're almost as good a flier as Harry!"  
  
"Well," said April slowly, looking as though she needed more words in her vocabulary to explain herself gently. "Beater... Isn't really my thing. I'm more of a Seeker of Keeper kind of person. And..." She hesitated. "I definitely won't be able to get Harry's spot, he's too... good." She took a frightened look at Ron, who was trying not to listen by stuffing a yellow bean into his mouth, which he spat out in disgust immediately. Harry wasn't sure if he spat it out because of it's taste or because he realized what April was trying to say.  
  
"Don't worry," Ron snarled darkly, looking angry. "We'll just see how your trial goes then, before making any assumptions, shall we?" The compartment went quiet, and the tension levels increased.  
  
The tension in the compartment went even higher as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle strutted in.  
  
"Well, hello, hello," smirked Malfoy, his hair slightly shaken from the bumpy train. "Two weasels, a potty, a Mudblood, and a..." he looked lost for insults.  
  
April stood up. "A what, Draco?" she asked, blushing around the cheeks slightly, remembering what Ron had said in Diagon Alley.  
  
Harry stood up too. He was sick of Malfoy and his rotten Death Eater family. If he couldn't seek revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange, well, Malfoy was related to her, and Harry was prepared to take out some of his anger on Malfoy instead.  
  
Malfoy looked April up and down, his eyes narrowing. He obviously couldn't think of an insult, because he decided to turn his attention to Harry instead.  
  
"Going to fight me Potter?" Malfoy's lip began to curl, looking at Harry in disgust.  
  
"Yeah, that's right," said Harry. "But you'd be way too scared to duel me alone wouldn't you? Like in our first year... To scared to show up, you were." Ron laughed, remembering the night they sneaked down to the trophy room where Harry was supposed to duel Malfoy.  
  
"Scared? You wish," shot back Malfoy, but his voice faltered slightly. Harry knew Malfoy would be too chicken to take him on, after all, Harry had defeated Voldemort numerous times, Malfoy would be no problem.  
  
Then, Malfoy looked up. So did April and Ron. Then Harry heard it too. Rain. But as he looked out of the window, he realized it wasn't normal rain. The magical storm was starting. The raindrops were as big as tennis balls, and each appeared to have several teeth, and they chomped down as they struck the window of the train, bouncing off but leaving small dents in the window.  
  
"The storms starting." Hermione looked frightened. It was a good half-hour till they arrived at Hogwarts, and these magical storms were unpredictable. Who knew how fast the storm would approach the train?  
  
Malfoy and his dummies left the compartment, looking slightly worried themselves.  
  
"The rain won't penetrate the train windows and wood too quickly though, will it?" Harry asked, not sure whether he wanted to hear the answer. He heard a loud rumble of thunder in the distance that echoed through his head.  
  
"Oh no," said Ron. "It's not the rain we have to worry about." He paused. "It's the lightning."  
  
The lights flickered, and for the next few minutes, everyone sat completely still, listening to the rain and thunder.  
  
"What. What does the lighting do?" asked Harry tentatively.  
  
"It only affects magical beings," said Hermione. No doubt she had read this somewhere. "The lightning creates an electrical atmosphere, just like in normal storms, but this electricity is harnessed and concentrated into a magical field. I suppose our wands will start to malfunction, we'll be blinded by the storm, and perhaps some other bad things..." She broke off, listening intently, as though expecting a lightning bolt to suddenly strike down in their compartment any minute.  
  
A few minutes later, Harry felt the train speed up, and the loud voice of the train driver sounded in the compartment.  
  
"We are nearing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to the quickly advancing storm, we ask for complete co-operation from all our passengers. Please exit as quickly as possible, and do not panic. Thank you. We will be arriving shortly."  
  
Harry thought of something. "Won't the storm affect us inside Hogwarts?" he asked, knowing the answer.  
  
"Of course not," said Hermione. "The castle walls are protected by spells of all kinds, some of which repel the magical field which is directed by the storm. She looked up in surprise, and following her gaze, Harry saw that the raindrops had burrowed a small hole through the glass windowpane. Harry moved aside slightly to put some space between him and the water drops with razor sharp teeth.  
  
Finally, the train came to a stop, and Harry saw Hagrid as he got out of the train. He was about to yell something to Hagrid, but was immediately pelted by small teeth and water. Feeling wet, irritated, and itchy, Harry, April, and Ginny made their way up to Hagrid, while Ron and Hermione had gotten lost somewhere in the crowd running to get out of the rain.  
  
"Alright Harry?" said Hagrid, grinning. The rain didn't seem to be annoying him at all. "Do yer want me coat? Me skin's tough enough ter bounce these little water critters righ' off, I don' need the coat." Harry took the heavy coat gratefully, and Ginny and April helped Harry hold it up like a tent above the three of them, and they stumbled into a carriage to take them up to the castle. Harry noticed the threstrals that he had started seeing last year pulling the carriages, and he noticed April looking at them too.  
  
"You can see them too, can't you?" Harry asked, as they got into a cosy carriage together.  
  
"Those scary horses?" April looked at Harry her blue eyes astonished. "Can't everyone see them?"  
  
"Nope." Harry shook a few wet teeth out of his hair. "Only people who have experienced seeing someone die can see them. You saw Maria die, is that right?"  
  
"Er - No," said April. "I never even saw her body. She got carried off by some ravenous giant who couldn't find good food. But I did see Carmo die."  
  
Harry looked at her. "Who?"  
  
"Carmo... He was a really good friend of mine. A giant. We got really close, he wasn't as vicious as the others, and I even managed to teach him some English. I told him everything, even if he didn't understand it."  
  
"Why'd you call him Carmo?" Harry looked stunned. He thought only Hagrid gave names to dangerous creatures.  
  
"Well every time I saw him, he'd give me a Carmo. Do you know what they are? They're leaves off of the Carmo Plant. They're really tasty, and dead useful if you live in the mountains - You can make baskets and hats and things with them. And they also contain a small amount of magic. Carmo loved magic, and he used to always play with the Carmo leaves, watching the sparks fly out of them."  
  
Harry tried to imagine a giant playing with magic.  
  
"All giants have a love for Carmo leaves. They soften them up. Give a giant a bundle of Carmo leaves, and when he takes a sniff of them, he'll calm down and act like a kid does with a puppy dog." April looked out of the window. It was raining heavily, but the rain didn't seem to penetrate the glass here.  
  
"I hope they get the train fixed up soon," said Harry. "I wonder what causes these storms."  
  
"There's an old legend about that," said Ginny suddenly. "Some people still believe that it's the spirits of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff dueling. It doesn't happen very often, though. About once every fifty years or so."  
  
Harry, April, and Ginny pulled the coat back over them, and stumbled outside, running up the marble steps that led into the Great Hall. 


	8. Cornelius Fudge

Chapter 8 - Cornelius Fudge  
  
As soon as April, Ginny, and Harry stepped into the warmth of the Great Hall, they began looking for a sign of Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Miss Dumbledore," a familiar voice said from behind the three wet students. April turned sharply to see Professor McGonagall standing behind her, with a new dragon skin wizards hat. She softened her usually piercing glare as she looked down at April.  
  
"Er... yes, Professor?" April looked slightly nervous.  
  
"Come with me. You need to be sorted." April looked at Harry and Ginny for support, but they just tried to look encouraging. Professor McGonagall led April into a mob of first years, and Harry turned his attention towards Ginny, who was yelling to Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione pushed their way through the crowd of people, and sat down with Harry and Ginny at the long Gryffindor table.  
  
"Where's April? She didn't get lost did she?" Ron looked worried, and Harry had a suspicion that Mrs Weasley had given Ron the responsibility of looking after April.  
  
"Nope," replied Ginny, settling herself down beside Hermione. "She's gone to get sorted."  
  
Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat significantly, and the Great Hall fell silent. Harry watched as the first years approached the Sorting Hat, which was just infront of the staff table. They all looked rather scrawny, with the exception of April, although she looked as though she might die of embarrassment any moment. Her cheeks were bright pink and her blue eyes radiated some nervousness.  
  
Just then, the sorting hat opened it's brim up wide, and began to sing.  
  
"A creation of Hogwarts,  
  
A sorting hat I be,  
  
I can fortell,  
  
Your houses, you see.  
  
My creators made me  
  
Centuries ago,  
  
And still I'm here,  
  
Watching you grow.  
  
Let me tell a sorry tale,  
  
Of four far in time,  
  
Who placed their hearts in Hogwarts,  
  
And formed it simply divine.  
  
Slytherin and Gryffindor,  
  
Were two of the four,  
  
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,  
  
Filled in the flaw.  
  
Together they taught,  
  
The young ones they chose,  
  
And Hogwarts became,  
  
A prestige to behold,  
  
In wonder, in awe,  
  
But the founders four,  
  
Had not hearts of gold,  
  
And crumbled to war.  
  
Slytherin versus Gryffindor,  
  
And Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw,  
  
They divided and conquered,  
  
Their pupils, into four.  
  
Broken to pieces,  
  
The houses lay,  
  
And Slytherin left,  
  
And to this day,  
  
Though strong I stand,  
  
I am forced to divide,  
  
To quarter our talents,  
  
Thus pushing unity aside.  
  
I hope this is right,  
  
Although it feels wrong,  
  
Hope is what we need,  
  
Need to stay strong.  
  
To stay as one,  
  
In perilous times,  
  
Weak as we are divided,  
  
Lets read between lines,  
  
Of my warning song,  
  
For I greatly fear,  
  
That dark times are awaiting,  
  
Approaching this year.  
  
We only appear stable,  
  
If we demolish our mistrust,  
  
And share a new harmony,  
  
For conflict is not just.  
  
After the tremendous applause died, Professor McGonagall picked up the hat off it's stool, and began to speak.  
  
"This year, we have a new student in 6th year - April Dumbledore," said Professor McGonagall. "Would you please come up to be sorted?"  
  
April stood up, and Ron whispered to Harry, "If she's not in Gryffindor, she can't try out for our team!"  
  
"D'you reckon Dumbledore would be mad if she didn't get into Gryffindor?" whispered back Harry. Ron looked pensive.  
  
McGonagall placed the ancient sorting hat upon April's head. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, wondering which house Dumbledore's daughter would be put in.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the Sorting Hat, and everyone cheered. Dumbledore looked proud.  
  
April walked over to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the Slytherins, who were staring at her in disgust - All except Malfoy, who appeared to be very interested in the material of the hall ceiling all of a sudden.  
  
After the sorting was over, Dumbledore clinked his spoon gently upon his goblet of pumpkin juice, and immediately, the hall fell silent once more, and turned attentively to Dumbledore for his start of year speech.  
  
"Well," he said, beaming at the new first years who were now seated at their house tables, looking up at him in awe. "Yet another year has started. It's odd how I never tire of giving out the start of year message to all of our students. However, I do tire of having to give speeches while my stomach rumbles and my sugar levels are low, so lets eat before I bore you with long speeches!" With a flick of his wand, plates of delicious food and juice appeared on the long tables, and everyone began to eat as Dumbledore sat down and started on a chicken drumstick.  
  
Harry listened to Ron and Hermione's chatter.  
  
"Thank goodness our prefect duties are being passed to the fifth years," said Hermione, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. "We'll have more time to study now!" She looked delighted, but Ron looked disgruntled.  
  
"You have a knack for making me see the good things in life differently, Hermione," grumbled Ron. Harry, on the other hand, was glad Ron and Hermione would have more time to spend with him this year.  
  
For the first time, Harry's eyes trailed up to the staff table, where Dumbledore sat talking to Professor McGonagall, and Snape was looking particularly vindictive at whom he had to sit next to - Cornelius Fudge. Harry's mouth fell open. The Minister of Magic was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Harry nudged Ron and Hermione and pointed soundlessly up to the staff table. Ron's mouth dropped in astonishment too, but Hermione, on the other hand, merely looked slightly surprised.  
  
"Fudge, a new teacher?" said Ron in amazement.  
  
"What's so odd about that?" questioned Hermione, helping herself to some plum pie.  
  
"Well - he's," Ron looked lost for words. "He's working against Dumbledore! And besides, he sent that Umbridge woman here, what if he's just like her, interfering with Hogwarts? And why is he here if he's got Ministry matters to deal with?"  
  
"He was working against Dumbledore, Ron, he WAS," pointed out Hermione. "Fudge obviously owes Dumbledore something for making last year so unbearable, and so I suppose he agreed to take on the job."  
  
"But why," said Harry in a low voice, "would Fudge abandon his Minister duties to come to Hogwarts?"  
  
"I suppose he's got someone to look after things while he's gone, and besides," said Hermione, "If the Ministry is going to work together with Dumbledore now, it's best that they be side by side, and if Fudge is in Hogwarts, it will be very easy for him to support the Ministry and Hogwarts at the same time."  
  
Harry looked up at the staff table. He wouldn't have been surprised if Percy was sitting somewhere up there too, as Fudge's assistant.  
  
"I just had a thought," said Hermione, thinking along the same lines as Harry. "What about Percy, Ron? Now that the Ministry and Dumbledore have joined forces, won't he have to apologize to your parents and come back?"  
  
"He's too ashamed," Ron snarled, looking vicious. "He's been a traitor for so long that it's too hard to come back. He'd have to swallow his pride, and pride is something Percy would never give up. He did talk to Dad one day though, so you never know -" Ron broke off.  
  
Ron took the last cold pie, and the plate refilled itself with more magnificent pies.  
  
"Looks like the house-elves have outdone themselves tonight," said Ron, looking cautiously at Hermione. "That's the third time that plate has refilled itself."  
  
"I think -" Hermione started to say, but was interrupted by Ron's groaning.  
  
"Hermione, don't start on that SPEW stuff again," Ron pleaded.  
  
"How would you like it if you had to cook enough to refill a plate over and over again?" Hermione's voice began to get higher.  
  
"There are house-elves here?" said April suddenly. She hadn't said much through the whole feast, preferring to eat. The amount she ate could easily compare to Ron, who was on his fifth bowl of custard.  
  
"Yeah," said Harry. "They do the kitchens and tend to the fires and stuff like that."  
  
Soon, nobody could eat anymore, even April, who was looking longingly at a rhubarb pie. Dumbledore stood up.  
  
"I hope you all ate well," he said. "I must remind first years, and some above that, that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. Please remember the creatures that dwell in the forest, and think twice before entering it. Secondly, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic."  
  
Everyone clapped, although some were looking at Fudge in astonishment and surprise. Fudge looked pleased by the applause, and took the liberty of straightening his wizards hat.  
  
"Each house will hold their Quidditch trials at a date set by your team captain," continued Dumbledore. "Please remember that first years are below priority for Quidditch team trials. I hope we all have a good year. Would the prefects please lead the way back to their houses now." He smiled at each of the tables, then sat down as everyone cheered, and people began exiting the Great Hall.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and April (who was trailing along looking at the high ceilings and many stairs in awe) arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room portrait of the Fat Lady, and hesitated.  
  
"Anyone know the password?" said Ron.  
  
"Yes," said Hermione. "It's forum classida" The portrait of the Fat Lady immediately swung open to let them into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione led April up to the girls dormitories, while Harry and Ron made their way up to the boys.  
  
As Harry stepped into the familiar boys dormitory, his fellow classmates Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan greeted him enthusiastically. Too tired to talk for long, Harry left Ron, Dean, and Seamus talking, and pulled the curtains around his four poster bed, and fell asleep, feeling happy and content. 


	9. Fireball Fudge

Chapter 9 - Fireball Fudge  
  
The next morning, Harry awoke refreshed, and went downstairs to the Great Hall to find Hermione and Ron, who were inspecting their new class timetables.  
  
"We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon," said Harry, now inspecting his own timetable. "And Potions tomorrow, with the Slytherins, as usual." Harry and Ron both groaned.  
  
Just then, Angelina Johnson came over and sat down in between Ron and Harry, across from Ginny. "Now Ginny," she began. "You do realize that now that Harry is back on the team, you are being bumped off? I'm sorry, but you do understand, right?" Angelina looked slightly awkward, and Harry knew she didn't like kicking people off.  
  
"No, that's fine," said Ginny, putting jam on her toast. "I was actually thinking of trying out for beater, now that Fred and George have left."  
  
"Good." Angelina now turned her attention to Ron. "And Ron, would it be alright if we had trials for keeper? If we can't find anyone suitable, you are still on the team obviously, but I was thinking maybe some of the second years have some potential -" Angelina looked even more awkward. But Ron simply nodded and said, "Yeah, that's fine. I was thinking of trying out for beater as well, everyone says I'm a better beater than keeper." Ron looked as though he had practiced saying this.  
  
"Excellent," said Angelina, who was beaming now. "In that case, I'll put up a notice on the Gryffindor board for Keeper and Beater trials this afternoon."  
  
"Well," said Harry, getting up. The Great Hall was almost empty now. "If we want to get to Transfiguration we'd better hurry up. McGonagall hates it when we're late." Harry, Ron, and Hermione picked up their bags, and walked off to Transfiguration, meeting April in the corridor. They arrived in the classroom just in time.  
  
It was quite a fun Transfiguration lesson. They were learning to turn muggle objects, such as soccer balls, into ferrets. While most of the class only succeeded in getting a ferret whose fur matched the patterns on the soccer ball, Hermione produced a perfectly cute ferret in no time, winning Gryffindor 20 points. Hermione tried to hide her pleasure, but failed by correcting Ron with his method of getting a ferret from a soccer ball.  
  
After lunch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom. When they sauntered in, Cornelius Fudge greeted them dressed in expensive purple robes.  
  
"Well, well," he said, smiling around at the class. Many did not return his smile, and Fudge seemed to notice this, and cleared his throat significantly.  
  
"I would just like to start this lesson by overcoming some - er - barriers that might be preventing student and teacher seeing eye to eye," he said, his chest puffing up importantly. Most of the class looked around warily as he said this.  
  
"Now I realize that with the - er - controversy of last year, many of you may have different perspectives of me and what I perform as, but I can assure you, the tables have been laid out, my eyes have been opened, and I am now working together with Dumbledore. And as for what was in the Daily Prophet a lot of last year, I apologize to anyone who got hurt -" His eyes cast around to find Harry. "And hope that I can start my new job with a clean slate."  
  
Neville raised his hand hesitantly.  
  
"Yes?" said Fudge politely, staring at Neville.  
  
"Excuse me, sir," stuttered Neville, "But how are you to keep up expectations at the Ministry if you are here, teaching at Hogwarts?"  
  
Fudge looked at Neville thoughtfully. "My aims for this year are to unite Hogwarts with the Ministry," he said slowly. "And I assure you, I have staff keeping up appearances for me at the Ministry, although yes, I will be extremely busy and perhaps have to impede the proceedings of the Ministry."  
  
He looked around the class, and began to call the roll from his long piece of parchment.  
  
"Right," Fudge said, looking around the classroom. "Now I have reference from Professor Dumbledore that you have studied many dangerous creatures, Unforgivable Curses, and much base theory for Defense Against the Dark Arts. This year, we will be studying simple curses and how to block them. We shall start today with the Disarming Spell - expelliarmus."  
  
Harry gaped at Fudge, and Hermione raised her hand.  
  
"Yes, Miss -?"  
  
"Granger, sir."  
  
"Yes, Miss Granger?"  
  
"The majority of this class already knows how to perform the Disarming Spell."  
  
Fudge looked surprised. "Well, then, shall we move on to something else? How about -" He looked down at his stack of parchment on the table, and began shifting through the many lesson plans he had.  
  
"Aha!" he said triumphantly, "Here we are. Today we shall study different types of dragons, and how to defend yourself against each one. Lets start with the Chinese Fireball." And he beamed at the class. Harry tried not to look too bored.  
  
"Now, get out some parchment, and copy down these notes," said Fudge, who was obviously clueless of the class' disregard for such a boring lesson. "The Chinese Fireball. With it's mushroom spiked fire-balls and golden spikes around the face, the Chinese Fireball is extremely aggressive. Now, if you are alone with a Chinese Fireball, you do have a small chance of surviving, if you know how to deal with it."  
  
Fudge pulled out a small bag, which was moving. It turned out to contain miniscule models of Chinese Fireballs. Fudge placed one on each desk, pretending not to notice when one aimed a fireball right at his neat moustache.  
  
"Now the best way to deal with a Chinese Fireball," he said, carelessly smoothing his slightly smoking moustache. "Is to use the spell Rictusempra, which is the Tickling Charm. Let me hear everyone say rictusempra!"  
  
"Rictusempra" chanted the class.  
  
"However," continued Fudge, "That alone is not enough. The face and tail are the strongest parts of a Chinese Fireball. However, it's back and underbelly are extremely sensitive. You will have a far bigger chance of tickling the dragon if you aim for it's underbelly. Now watch closely. Engorgio!" And immediately, the miniscule model of the Chinese Fireball on Fudge's desk enlarged to be the size of Fudge himself.  
  
"Rictusempra!" Fudge yelled, pointing his wand at the dragon's back, which, Harry noticed, had very delicate skin. The dragon started twitching, and coughed up some smoke, which Harry interpreted as it's giggling.  
  
"Reducio!" yelled Fudge, and the Chinese Fireball became small again.  
  
"Now," said Fudge, "When you tickle a dragon, one of its sensory arteries are cut off, and it becomes weaker. In the Chinese Fireballs case, it prevents the dragon from being able to swing a fireball, and if it does have enough strength to, its aim will not be precise. So, now, you can safely perform the Stunning Charm on the Chinese Fireball - stupefy! - And your dragon will be Stunned."  
  
The class clapped.  
  
"Now I would like each of you to perform this on your dragons," said Fudge, smiling at the applause.  
  
"Rictusempra!" said Harry, pointing his wand at the mini-Chinese Fireball lazily. It began to tickle, and Harry said "Stupefy!" And his dragon froze, and fell off his desk. Harry picked it up and fingered it. It wasn't such a bad lesson, thought Harry, just a little boring. He already knew enough about dealing with the Dark Arts to be bored with dragons.  
  
Harry looked around the classroom. Almost everyone had gotten the hang of it on the first try, with the exception of Neville, who was backing away as his Chinese Fireball aimed huge balls of fire directly at him. Fudge hurried over to help.  
  
"Well," said Ron to Harry in a low voice, holding his own stunned dragon. "This is hands-on at least."  
  
"It's terrible!" scandalized Hermione. "Can't he see that everyone is getting it on the first go? It's far too easy! He's not doing it on purpose, like that Umbridge woman was, he actually does think that this is all we are capable of!" She broke off as Fudge moved their way to help April, who had accomplished stunning her dragon, and was now practicing her Transfiguration homework by turning it into a ferret. Harry laughed as he watched April try to explain.  
  
"Well, I did stun it, really, I did!" April was protesting. "I was just trying out some other stuff, you know, incase someone holds a wand to my head and tells me to transfigure a dragon into a ferret - now I'll know how to do it! - Er. -" She looked to Ron for help, but he just shrugged.  
  
By the end of the class, the Gryffindors were almost longing to go down to Hagrid's Hut for Care of Magical Creatures, after being jaded by Fudge for over an hour. Harry made his way across the grounds towards Hagrid, who was waving and looking pleased. As the Gryffindors came closer, they saw exactly what Hagrid had in store for them - Pheonixes. Behind Hagrid were six of the most beautiful phoenixes Harry had ever seen, one of which Harry recognized as Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes.  
  
Harry saw the Slytherins approaching, and saw the familiar sneer of Draco Malfoy, flanked by his two buddies Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
Once all the students were crowded around the phoenixes, who appeared to be pleasantly surprised at all the attention.  
  
"There's more inside the house," said Hagrid, smiling at Harry. "But they seem close to their Burning Day, so they look fairly ugly." As he said this, Harry jumped and stared at Hagrid's Hut, which had flames shooting out a window.  
  
"Hagrid!" screamed Hermione. Hagrid looked around at his hut and was startled to see it going up in flames. By now, the Slytherins were practically rolling on the ground with laughter. Malfoy looked like he had just acclaimed all the gold in Gringotts.  
  
While Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid worked to keep the flames under control, the rest of the class watched on in tears of laughter. By the time Hagrid had put out the fire, with the help of Hermione's magical talent, half of Hagrid's hut was destroyed. Looking amongst the ashes, Harry saw four ugly heads of the reborn phoenixes who had the dignity to look abashed at all the damage they caused.  
  
After the lesson was over, Malfoy approached Harry, Ron, Hermione, and April, who were watching Hagrid inspect the hut.  
  
"That great oaf should be glad his hut burned down. Maybe now he can get a proper place." Malfoy's eyes were glinting maliciously.  
  
"Ignore him Ron," said Hermione, tugging at Ron's robes to hold him back.  
  
"Although I suppose you wouldn't mind, would you Weasley? Living in a hut like this would seem like a dream to you, I suppose?" Malfoy looked at Ron dangerously. "How does your mother fit in that miniscule dumpster of yours?"  
  
This time it took both Harry and Hermione to hold Ron back.  
  
"What about your dad, Malfoy?" Harry snarled. "Where's he now? Locked in a cell in Azkaban?"  
  
"That's what you think, Potter," Malfoy spat.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Hermione, who was still struggling with Ron.  
  
"Never you mind, you nosy little Mudblood."  
  
"C'mon," said April, who had been listening silently through the conversation. "He's not worth it. We'll be late for Quidditch trials."  
  
April didn't notice Ron glaring at her as they walked off, leaving Malfoy behind. 


End file.
